Quick answer:
On September 1, 2026, Shopify switched its inventory analytics from available quantity to on-hand quantity. On-hand quantity counts every unit physically at a location, including stock committed to open orders and stock marked unavailable. Available quantity only ever counted what was free to sell right now, so reported inventory on affected reports is now higher for any store carrying meaningful committed or unavailable stock. Historical data before September 1 is unchanged, the shift only applies going forward.
Nobody added new stock to your warehouse on September 1, 2026, but a handful of Shopify reports may suddenly show more of it. That is not a bug and it is not new inventory, it is a definition change: Shopify's inventory analytics now count on-hand quantity instead of available quantity, and the gap between those two numbers can be significant for a wholesaler carrying open B2B orders or a manufacturer holding stock through quality checks.
This guide covers exactly what changed, which reports and ShopifyQL queries are affected, why the shift shows up as a jump rather than a gradual trend, and what a Canadian manufacturer or wholesaler should re-check before trusting a reorder point or a forecast built on the old numbers.
01. The Quick Answer
Shopify's inventory analytics models now measure stock by on-hand quantity rather than available quantity, effective September 1, 2026. On-hand quantity is the full physical count at a location. Available quantity is the smaller figure left after subtracting stock committed to open orders and stock marked unavailable. The switch applies only to reporting from that date forward, past data keeps its original available-quantity basis.
Why it matters: a store's reported inventory can jump on paper without a single unit changing hands, and any process built on the old numbers, from a reorder point to a demand forecast, needs a second look before the next planning cycle.
02. On-Hand vs Available vs Committed vs Unavailable, at a Glance
| Term | What it counts | Example |
|---|---|---|
| On-hand quantity | Every unit physically at a location: sellable, committed, and unavailable stock combined | 500 units in the warehouse, regardless of what they are earmarked for |
| Available quantity | Only units that are free to sell right now | 500 on hand, minus 80 committed and 20 unavailable, equals 400 available |
| Committed quantity | Units on hand but already tied to an order that has not shipped yet | 80 units allocated to open B2B or DTC orders awaiting fulfillment |
| Unavailable quantity | Units on hand but not sellable for another reason | 20 units on a damage or quality hold, not yet written off |
Why it matters: the size of the gap between on-hand and available depends entirely on how much stock a business typically has committed or on hold at any given time, which is why the change hits a wholesale operation harder than a simple resale storefront.
03. What Changed on September 1, 2026, and Why
Shopify's own changelog describes the update simply: inventory reports now show on-hand quantity, a figure Shopify frames as a better reflection of the real world physical stock a business is holding, since it includes everything at a location rather than only what is technically free to sell in the next few seconds.
The change is scoped to inventory analytics models, the reports and ShopifyQL queries that summarize stock over time, not the live available quantity figure shown on a product page or at checkout, which still reflects what a customer can actually buy right now. Those two numbers were always meant to answer different questions, and after September 1, 2026, the gap between them is finally visible in reporting rather than hidden inside a single blended figure.
Why it matters: the update is a genuine improvement for anyone trying to understand true physical stock levels, but it is also a breaking change for any workflow that was quietly relying on the old, narrower definition without realizing it.
04. Which Reports and ShopifyQL Queries Are Affected
- Products by sell-through rate
- Days of inventory remaining
- Inventory adjustment changes
- ABC product analysis
- Any custom ShopifyQL query reading FROM inventory or FROM inventory_by_location
Why it matters: reports built on sales and order data, like total sales, conversion rate, or average order value, are not touched by this change. This is specifically an inventory analytics update, which makes it easy to miss until a report that leans on stock levels produces a number that looks wrong.
05. Why Your Numbers Look Different, and Why History Did Not Change
Reporting before September 1, 2026 is not recalculated.
Historical numbers keep their original available-quantity basis. Only reporting from September 1 onward uses on-hand quantity, so a trend line or chart that spans the changeover date is comparing two different definitions of stock on either side of it.
In practice this means reported inventory jumps once, on or immediately after September 1, 2026, rather than drifting up gradually. If your business typically carries committed stock against open orders or holds units for quality checks, that jump reflects units the old reports were quietly excluding, not new inventory that arrived overnight.
Why it matters: a sudden change in a report is the kind of thing that prompts a call to ownership or an accountant asking what happened. Knowing the cause in advance turns a five-minute explanation into a non-event.
06. Why This Matters More for Manufacturers and Wholesalers
A DTC store with low committed stock and few quality holds will barely notice the switch, on-hand and available quantity were already close together. A manufacturer or wholesaler running B2B accounts, purchase orders in progress, and inventory sitting through quality control is a different case entirely. Committed and unavailable stock is a normal, ongoing part of that business, not an edge case, so the gap between the two figures is larger and more persistent.
Why it matters: the businesses most likely to be surprised by this change are exactly the ones for whom accurate inventory reporting carries the most weight, since reorder timing, production scheduling, and cash tied up in stock all depend on getting the number right.
07. A Practical Checklist for the Next Planning Cycle
Confirm which definition each report or app is using.
Check inventory-related reports, third-party inventory apps, and any custom ShopifyQL queries against the new on-hand definition rather than assuming they already updated correctly.
Re-check reorder points and days-of-inventory-remaining thresholds.
A reorder point tuned against available quantity will now trigger later than intended, since on-hand quantity reads higher when committed or unavailable stock is significant.
Flag any trend line that spans September 1, 2026.
A chart covering both sides of the changeover date is mixing two different definitions of stock. Note the boundary before presenting that trend to finance or ownership.
Ask lightweight inventory and forecasting apps which figure they read.
Katana, Cin7 Core, Unleashed, and similar tools may pull from Shopify's live available quantity for one purpose and its inventory analytics for another. Confirm rather than assume.
Re-baseline sell-through and ABC analysis before the next planning cycle.
Sell-through rate and ABC product classification both use inventory levels as an input. Numbers calculated after September 1 are not directly comparable to numbers calculated before it.
Why it matters: none of these steps require a platform change or a development project, they are a one-time review to make sure decisions made this quarter are based on the same definition of stock the whole team is looking at.
08. How This Connects to Demand Forecasting and Inventory Systems
This change sits underneath, not instead of, the bigger inventory decisions a growing manufacturer or wholesaler is already making. Our guide to Shopify inventory management for manufacturers covers when native Shopify, a lightweight app like Katana or Cin7 Core, or a full ERP is the right layer for your operation, and the AI demand forecasting guide covers what to build once your stock data is reliable. Both depend on knowing which quantity definition is feeding the numbers, which is exactly what this update changed.
Why it matters: a forecasting model or reorder rule is only as good as the inventory figure underneath it, and that figure just moved.
09. How AtlanticWorks Helps
AtlanticWorks is a certified Shopify partner working with manufacturers, wholesalers, retailers, and DTC brands across Atlantic Canada and beyond. We audit which inventory definition your reports, apps, and reorder automations are actually using, re-baseline reorder points and forecasts against the on-hand standard where it matters, and make sure the numbers your team relies on for purchasing decisions reflect what is really on the shelf. It starts with a free assessment.
10. Key Takeaways
- Shopify's inventory analytics switched from available quantity to on-hand quantity on September 1, 2026, on-hand quantity includes committed and unavailable stock, available quantity does not.
- Historical reporting before September 1, 2026 is unchanged, only reporting from that date forward uses the new definition, which means trend lines crossing the boundary mix two different measures.
- Sell-through rate, days of inventory remaining, inventory adjustment changes, ABC analysis, and custom ShopifyQL queries against the inventory tables are all affected.
- A wholesaler carrying large committed quantities against open B2B orders will see a bigger jump in reported inventory than a small DTC store will, this is a reporting change, not new stock.
- Reorder points, forecasting models, and any app reading Shopify's inventory analytics should be re-checked against the on-hand definition before the next planning cycle.
11. Frequently Asked Questions
What changed in Shopify's inventory reports on September 1, 2026?
Starting September 1, 2026, Shopify's inventory analytics models switched from measuring stock by available quantity to measuring it by on-hand quantity. On-hand quantity counts every unit physically at a location, including units committed to open orders and units currently marked unavailable. Available quantity only ever counted units that were free to sell right now. The reports themselves did not move, the number they calculate did.
What is the difference between on-hand quantity and available quantity in Shopify?
On-hand quantity is everything physically sitting at a location: sellable stock, stock committed to orders that have not shipped yet, and stock on hold for quality or damage reasons. Available quantity is the smaller number left after subtracting committed and unavailable stock, it only reflects what a customer could actually buy right now. A warehouse holding 500 units with 80 committed to open orders and 20 on a quality hold has an on-hand quantity of 500 and an available quantity of 400.
Which Shopify reports are affected by the switch to on-hand quantity?
The change affects products by sell-through rate, days of inventory remaining, inventory adjustment changes, ABC product analysis, and any custom ShopifyQL query that reads from the inventory or inventory_by_location tables. Reports built on order and sales data, like total sales or conversion rate, are not affected, this is specifically an inventory analytics change.
Will my historical Shopify inventory data change after this update?
No. Reporting for dates before September 1, 2026 still reflects available quantity and is not recalculated. Only reporting from September 1, 2026 onward uses on-hand quantity. That means a trend line that spans the changeover date is comparing two different definitions of stock on either side of it, which is worth flagging before drawing conclusions from a chart that crosses that boundary.
Why did my inventory numbers suddenly go up after September 1, 2026?
If your store carries meaningful committed or unavailable stock, on-hand quantity will read higher than available quantity did, because it adds back everything that was previously excluded. A jump in reported inventory on or after September 1 does not mean you received new stock, it means the report started counting units it was leaving out before.
Should Canadian manufacturers and wholesalers change how they read inventory reports now?
Yes. A wholesaler with large committed quantities against open purchase orders or B2B accounts will see a bigger gap between on-hand and available than a small DTC store will. Reorder points, days-of-inventory-remaining calculations, and sell-through targets that were tuned against available quantity need to be re-checked against on-hand quantity, or they will trigger at the wrong stock level.
How does this affect demand forecasting and reorder automation?
Any demand forecasting model, reorder automation, or app that pulls from Shopify's inventory analytics rather than the live available quantity on the product page is now working from a different baseline. It is worth confirming with each app or workflow whether it reads on-hand or available quantity, since a forecasting tool built against the old definition can quietly start overstating how much stock is truly sellable.
Related Resources
Native tools, lightweight apps, and when a full ERP is worth it
What to build once your inventory data is reliable
Keeping inventory, cost, and tax data in sync across systems
When on-hand stock accuracy depends on the warehouse floor, not just reports
Not sure which numbers your team should trust right now?
AtlanticWorks runs a free assessment of your Shopify inventory setup, checks which definition your reports and apps are using, and re-baselines your reorder points so purchasing decisions match what is actually on the shelf.
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